By Asha Elmi - Reporter
Djibouti City(Dawan Africa) – The governments of the Republic of Djibouti and the Federal Republic of Somalia have signed a bilateral Status of Forces Agreement (SoFA) that formally establishes the legal framework for the presence and expansion of Djiboutian troops in Somalia under the African Union Stabilization Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
The agreement was signed on July 30, 2025, in Djibouti’s capital, during a joint ceremony attended by senior officials from both countries. Signatories included Somalia’s Minister of Defence, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, and Djibouti’s Acting Minister of Defence, Ali Hassan Bahdoon.
According to the terms of the agreement, Djibouti will maintain and strengthen its contingent of 1,520 troops, operating in Sector 4 of AUSSOM. These forces are primarily deployed in the Hiiraan and Galgaduud regions, with bases in the strategic towns of Beledweyne, Buulo Burde, Jalalaqsi, and Dhusamareeb.
“This agreement will guide the expansion of Djiboutian forces in Somalia, in line with the priorities previously agreed between the two parties,” the joint statement from both governments noted.
The SoFA outlines the operational procedures, legal responsibilities, and accountability mechanisms governing Djiboutian military operations in Somalia, reinforcing the principle of host-nation sovereignty.
Djibouti has been a key troop-contributing country in Somalia’s stabilization since the era of AMISOM and continued through ATMIS. With the conclusion of ATMIS in December 2024, Djiboutian troops are now officially part of AUSSOM, the Somali-led AU mission designed to transition full security responsibilities to Somali authorities by December 2029.
AUSSOM is operating under a phased drawdown plan outlined in the African Union’s Concept of Operations (CONOPs). Phase one maintained 12,626 troops until June 30, 2025, while phase two reduces that number to 11,146 troops between July 1 and December 31, 2025, based on regular joint security assessments.
The Djibouti–Somalia SoFA is also aligned with broader AU plans to reinforce AUSSOM with up to 8,000 additional troops, using both bilateral and multilateral channels, in response to escalating insecurity. The proposal was endorsed at the April 2025 summit of troop-contributing countries (TCCs) held in Uganda, where Djibouti, Uganda, and Kenya all expressed support for increasing personnel to counter the growing threat of Al-Shabaab.
